Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] Chapter 156: Book 3: Chapter 12: Antidote

Read chapter 156 of Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] by TTReynolds on NovelPedia.

Book 3: Chapter 12: Antidote Book 3: Chapter 12: Antidote A hole ripped through one’s chest was a deadly wound to a human, it seemed to be no different for a large reptile beast. Alex’s final strike had broken Devon’s creation, but the resulting blast sent concentrated aether completely through the basilisk’s body, tearing a hole inside its organs and out the other side. He had to jump away to avoid the thing’s death throws, the serpent lashing out wildly with claw, tail, and teeth in every direction it could muster. The rapid jerks and twists only made its injury worse, though, speeding up the arrival of its dark passenger. It took only moments for the creature to finally grow still, its blood slowly constructing a putrid pond around its corpse. Alex didn’t wait. He sprinted straight for the basilisk’s body, his boots splashing in the pooling blood and dirt. “What the hell is he doing?” One of the mercenaries barked, hand tightening on his blade. “Looting already?” Selka spat, fury flashing in the woman’s eyes as she watched him. “Are you serious? ” Kate called after him. Her voice was sharp, but Alex didn’t bother turning around. He would let them think what they wanted. He wasn’t doing this for coin, or greed, or power for that matter. His fingers tore through thick hide and muscle, scales crunching under his weight. He hacked away at the muscles and tissue with his hands until he had a jagged opening toward the upper part of the basilisk’s torso, then he shoved an arm inside. The heat and stench hit him like a festering wall. The moment his hand sank into the slick slurry, bile rose hot in the back of his throat. Alex gagged, wrenched his head to the side, and then vomited across the blood soaked dirt at his feet. His body trembled as his stomach emptied itself, but his hand didn’t stop searching. The stench was almost unbearable, acidic, rotten, half-melted meat mixed with a metal tang that racked at the insides of his nostrils. He pulled free a handful of corpse slush without meaning to: bone shards, shredded muscle, a mixture of bile and black muck of unknown composition. He threw it aside with a wet slap , heaving again. “ Ohhhh, ” Obby cackled inside his skull, voice positively gleeful. “ This is just like the badger mother, remember? You’re disgusting. I love it. ” Alex’s jaw clenched as he plunged his hand deeper. His aura pulsed faintly, shielding his flesh from the acidic burn of the thing’s blood. He groped around until finally, finally, his fingers brushed what he needed. The stomach lining here was thick, veined with glowing wisps of aether in his [Aether Sight]. He tore a pouch from his belt, and jammed three vials under the torn stomach flesh, carefully filling them with the sloshing yellow-green liquid that hissed as it touched the glass. The resulting smell alone nearly made him pass out. He staggered back, coughing violently, and retching once again, his stomach heaving until his throat was raw. The vials clinked as he corked them, his vision swimming hazily. But he kept them close, clutching them like a treasure. Because they were. Doran lay propped against a wagon wheel, his face pale under the low light of the stars. The petrification had now climbed past his calf, creeping along muscle like frost devouring a car window. The runes on his hammer flickered dimly in his lap, his teeth clenched against the pain. Myrae knelt beside him, whispering prayers and pouring useless healing light over the stone limb. It only made the hard sheen glisten more. “Move.” Alex dropped down beside them, the vials of basilisk bile rattling in his bloodied hands. The stench coming off the glass was already bad enough to make a few mercenaries gag. “What the hell is that?” Myrae hissed, reaching to shove him back. “The only chance he’s got,” Alex snapped. He uncorked a vial. The smell hit them like a punch in the gut, rotting eggs and burning metal. Doran’s eyes widened. “You… don’ you dare—” But Alex was already tipping the